Literature of Comics - Day 2

            Prince Achmed, many say is the first full length animated film, made in 1926. Through the use of shadow puppets, lines and silhouettes convey the entire story. The story is very easy to follow because each puppet has its own personality, shown through their movement rather than their face. All of the action is through the body language, how they move and what they chose to do throughout the film. This is one of the basic theories of comics, to look at the body language and read the situation through this.
            Proto-comics date back thousands of years, from cave drawings to scrolls to the bayou tapestry are all early versions of comics. All of these have characters, a story, a narrative that one can read from one end to another and understand what the medium is trying to convey. Panels, speech balloons, and graphic drawings were all first shown in wood block prints. The idea that comics were developed in the United Sates in the early 19th c, it just is not true. Everything an artist would need to create comics, from sequences to characters had been developed long before in many other countries.
            Comics and graphic narratives are virtually internal, meaning that your mind will create the world you are reading in your mind, connecting the words and images. Even with just two images, one can put together a story, like with Hogarth's paintings. The first painting, the girl appears to be apprehensive towards the man's advances, and he does not seem to care. In the second painting, their clothing is messed up, britches on the floor and the man seems to be trying to get away after having his fun. Hogarth started off as an engraver of silver, like peoples coats of arms or initials on silver watches or other items. He had sisters who opened a hat shop. Hogarth had bigger ambitions though for he wanted to become a historical painter for the court, but this would be very difficult not being royal. Yet, he found a teacher who worked for the court and married his teachers daughter. He was able to show his paintings and people would come in and subscribe to paintings that they wanted a print of. He was a very savvy business man, like making lotteries to win a print. Then he started to play with sequential pieces, like the Harlot's Progress.
            From the title one can tell that the image has something to do with prostitution, and in the image one can see a young woman who is being looked at by a much older woman. Mother Needham, the older woman in the drawing, was stoned to death during the time for being a well known prostitute "wrangler". The setting is in central London, by the bus terminal, where everyone enters the town. Pimps would wait for young run away women to make them into prostitutes. The young woman in the painting  is holding a bag of seamstress tools, which shows her trade. She also has her luggage next to her with a dead goose whom she is suppose to give to her cousin who would be taking care of her. This shows that she is from out of town and a bit out of place. Colonel Charteris and Trusty Jack are creeping in the corner, and during the time he was a well known rapist. The man on the horse is a clergyman and he is reading off the letter from the father of London. There are also a series of visual puns, the bell of the yard with the bell sign and the girl and there are the falling buckets and the girl is falling too. There is also a man in the back on the balcony whom is unconcerned with what is happening.
            In the next image, she has become a successful mistress. She is kicking over the table to distract her husband from her lover sneaking out the back door. The next image shows police entering her room due to her stolen goods. She is forced to her work house due to these charges and eventually becomes very sick. In the last image, she is dead in a coffin surrounded by people payed to morn her life.
            In Understanding comics, my favorite part of it was how we see ourselves through cartoons. I loved the idea because I am a sap when it comes to movies in general and cry too easily in sad moments. Yet, I think I relate to cartoons more and have cried in more animated films than any other genre of films. When he talked about how we know when we smile and how we see ourselves, I found this to be very interesting for I have never really thought about it before. I don't see myself as my reflection but rather almost a caricature of myself. When I smile I imagine a half moon or when I am mad I see myself with the cartoony angry brows.